I have a welsh section A pony and he is nervous any suggestions?

Question

I bought a welsh pony last fall and he was halter broke and that is it. He was a stallion but I just had him castorated a couple of days ago. I have done lots of ground work with him but he is still nervous. I keep him locked up so I have to catch and touch him every day. He will be good for a few days then he acts like I haven't touched him for days. He is not mean at all and he knows he is to be by me and not run away but you can tell sometimes it takes all he has to stay there and not flee. Some friends have told me to trip him and that might give him a wake up call but I am not sure. I have worked with horses who have never been touched and they were alot better then he is. I like him and he is kind of flashy but if anyone has advice on whether I am waisting my time or if he might come around. He is supposed to be a kids horse, well there is no way I would put my kids on him right now.Oh! Some things like being covered with a tarp he was better than another but he has some issues.

Answer 1

If I had been castrated by you, I'd be nervous the next time you tried to touch me too!

Answer 2

It is going to take some time for him to lose his "stallionness", especially if he is an adult when he was castrated.

You say you keep him locked up, do you mean in his stall or even a small paddock? If so, this is a huge part of your problem. If he is kept confined in a small area, he is going to be so hyper and energetic it is going to be tough to get him to concentrate on his training. The problem is compounded if you are giving him high energy grain meant for horses in more intense training or competition.

You need to let him burn some energy off. Lunge him, put him in a round pen anything to let him stretch his legs and run. If possible, have him turned out in a large enough paddock/pasture he can run around in for as much of the day as possible. Horses should never be kept in a stall all day unless the weather is bad or they are sick. In the wild, horses graze and wander all day, they are not couped up in a little area.

Tripping him is not a good idea. I am not even sure how you would go about that, but that would cause more problems than it is worth. Check out different trainers such as Monty Roberts or Pat Parelli or others who practice natural horsemanship. They all are able to work with horses and create a lasting partnership.

If you are nervous when you are around him, he can pick up on that and it makes him nervous as well. Stay relaxed when you are working with him.

As far as wasting your time, I don't think that is necessarily the case. I believe with the right training your horse could come around and be fine, however it is going to take a lot of time and effort, and money if you hire a professional.

I think if you want a pony for your kids, you should try to find a different pony who is already broke and has experience with children. Depending on your horse housing situation, you could potentially keep your current pony and work with him, but have another for the kids to ride until they get experienced enough to work with the other one.

Good luck!

Answer 3

If he is spooking or running you over when you lead him you need to give him a wake up call in the form of disengaging his hind end. Remind him that his job while he is haltered is to listen to you! (http://www.kbrhorse.net/tra/line05.html)

The best way to get a horse to become less nervous is for him to gain your trust. There are many trainers than have exercises for this - it's just finding the right methods for you both. Try Clinton Anderon, John Lyons, Pat Parelli, and Linda Tellington Jones.

It sounds like you need to contact a professional to help you out a little bit. It doesn't sound like a stallion thing it just seems like he's young and not very experienced in the ways of the world yet. Stallions and young horses generally do not make good kids horses and I would say he will need 90 days MINIMUM of solid undersaddle and ground work before I would let my kids on him.

Answer 4

Have you heard of Pat Parelli? He is a phenominal trainer who has a website and tapes, DVDs, books and he is on satellite TV channel RFDTV along with many other good trainers. I like Pat's seven games, they are a great base for everything and teraches you to understand how the horse thinks. He's worked with many horses worse than yours could ever be. You must stay calm at all times and if you set your horse up, hit him or trip him etc... he will only fear you and not trust you. hes acting this way because he doesn't trust you, Parelli is all about becoming a partner with your horse. I bought a Tennessee Walker that had been mistreated and locked in a stall for a year, not much trust there. He gave me a glimpse of his personality and I bought him, he got a lot worse before he got better, I had trainers quit on me. I used Pats and Monty Roberts techniques and he's a wonderful horse now. Monty robert join up technique save Tyrone and I as I couldn't even catch him in the paddock, after getting out of that stall he went wild. If anyone tells you to do anything that sounds mean don't do it, because it is mean and won't develop trust and partnership. Good Luck don't give up!

Answer 5

Trip him? Well the friend is stupid because you don't want to give him a "wake up call", you want to acclimate him to things he might find scary. Take things that scare him and spend a week on each, just walking him up to then every day, lure him with feed if necessary, and walk him over them if possible, like a tarp. Scaring him might make him meek and obey you, but do you want your pony to be in total fear of you? I consider that animal abuse, if you try to control your pony by fright instead of respect and hard work training. Keep in mind ponies, like people, have bad days. Days they are frightened a lot more than normal, or just don't' feel like working. Try to understand this and not push your pony beyond his comfort. You'll neeed patience but most likely he'll come around.

Answer 6

What do you expect from your pony. .. You had it castrated...and it hurt your pony terribly bad. You did not have the pony long enough for a bond or trust to be built between you two. I hope you love animals and you regain trust with your pony because you have lost the trust you could have had in the beginning. Don't expect much from your pony until you can have the respect from your pony as well. Right now all your pony does is: holds fears of you,
Rightfully so I must add. Do things proper
next time. There is nothing wrong with the pony...it is you caring less the pony did not know you and putting it through that type of pain before trust. People like you do not deserve animals until they can get it right.
Got it.

Answer 7

just keep working with him. its going to take a while for him to realize he isnt a stallion anymore, and to stop acting like one. typically i wouldnt buy a stallion for kids, even if i was going to castrate him. continue to work with him. dont do anything that would normaly cause fear in a horse, such as hit or use whips around him. he needs to go out side, even if in a round pen for at least a couple hours a day, if you keep him in a stall, that makes horses go bad. they pick up bad habits, get nervous, and act up because they have alot of energy that needs to be run out of them.